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F404 Turbofan

The F404 turbofan engine with afterburner has been developed by the American company General Electric, specially for the 2-engine F/A-18 Hornet fort the United States Navy and Marine Corps. It is also used on the Hornets in service with the Air Forces of Switzerland, Finland, Spain, Canada, Australia, Kuwait and Malaysia. Other aircraft which have been fitted with the F404 engine are the Saab Gripen from Sweden (a updated version by the swedish company Volvo and designated as RM12), T-50, A-4S, India Light Combat Aircraft, X-31 EFM, F-5G Tiger and the F-117A Nighthawk from the USAF.

During the 80 years, Northrop replaced the engine of the F-5G by the F404. In 1981, the USAF choose the F404 for their new stealth fleet of F-117 fighter jets. In the F-117 the engine air inlets are hidden and the exhaust gasses are suppressed to be more stealthy.